The Heschel School

Opening Minds, Bridging Differences, Living Jewish Values.

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About
About Heschel

When the Abraham Joshua Heschel School was founded in 1983, a new model of Jewish day school was created. Named after one of the great Jewish leaders, teachers, and activists of the twentieth century, The Heschel School opened with a commitment to creating a pluralistic Jewish community dedicated to the values that characterized Rabbi Heschel’s life: intellectual exploration, respect, integrity, love of the Jewish people and tradition, and a commitment to social justice.

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The Heschel Experience
The Heschel Experience

The Heschel experience embraces both what it means to be a pluralistic community and the values that characterized Rabbi Heschel’s life: intellectual exploration, respect, integrity, love of the Jewish people and tradition, and a commitment to social justice. Learn more.
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Academics
Academics at Heschel
The Abraham Joshua Heschel School fosters critical thinking and a love of learning in an environment of intellectual challenge and academic excellence. By weaving together Jewish and general studies we nurture each student’s intellectual, emotional, social, and spiritual growth.
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Admissions
Admissions
Welcome to The Abraham Joshua Heschel School. We are a unique pluralistic Jewish day school, emphasizing academic excellence as well as awareness of social and communal responsibility through an offering of a superb integrated curriculum of general and Judaic studies.

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Parents
Parents' Association
The PA is comprised of all parents in the school, including Early Childhood, Lower School, Middle School, and High School. We foster communication between the parent body and the administration, faculty, and staff. Throughout the year, we engage families by creating and producing community-building and educational programs.
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Alumni
Alumni

Heschel's alumni, now over 1,400 strong, span the continent and the world. We are proud of their accomplishments and celebrate their successes as artists, educators, scholars, journalists, business and financial leaders, and rabbis, with the foundation of a Heschel education.
Support Heschel
When you give to the Annual Fund, our number one fundraising priority, you support all of the ways in which we strive to achieve Heschel’s mission, including supporting our exceptional faculty and staff and our talented student body. Your gift enables us to provide our students with a unique and exceptional education and to nurture our distinct and special pluralistic and socio-economically diverse community.

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Renee Leeser Brandeis

Renee Leeser Brandeis

Renee Leeser Brandeis was born on June 4, 1927 in Duisburg, Germany. She was raised in a Reform Jewish home and enjoyed a comfortable childhood until the Nazis came to power in 1933. In December 1941, Renee and her parents, Arnold and Ida Leeser, were deported to the Riga Ghetto in Latvia. She was subsequently separated from her parents and survived several labor and concentration camps, including Stutthoﬀ and Stolp, as well as a death march, before being liberated by British forces on May 3, 1945.

On July 26, 1948, Renee immigrated to the United States. On February 21, 1952, she married Eric Brandeis, who was also born in Germany (Nuremberg), and had immigrated to the United States as a 9 year old boy. Eric served in the United States Army in World War II. He fought in the Battle of the Bulge, was awarded the Bronze Star for bravery, and with his unit, liberated a number of concentration camps. Eric and Renee were married for over 61 years.

While raising her family, Renee also cultivated her artistic talents. She designed silver jewelry pieces, painted, and published “Deep Shadows” in 1989, a collection of her writings about the Shoah. Renee was also her son Cliﬀord’s ﬁrst employee when he started his law ﬁrm over 30 years ago serving as oﬃce manager and “Girl Friday.” Renee is the proud mother of two sons, Cliﬀord (Sharon Schneier) and Charles (Kate Brandeis), and ﬁve grandchildren: Rachel (HS ‘13), Aaron (HS ‘16), Ben (HS ‘16), Henry and Emma.